The Birthright
by rebornandfree
Summary: He looked at the kid, and he was all wrong. He didn't have red hair, and his eyes were a periwinkle blue instead of the distinctive purple. But behind the color of his hair and the shade of his eyes, his soul was Uzumaki. "You'll do, kid," he said, "You'll do." Fuuinjutsu!Naruto


The Birthright

He looked at the kid, and he was all wrong. He didn't have red hair, and his eyes were a periwinkle blue instead of the distinctive purple. But behind the color of his hair and the shade of his eyes, his soul was Uzumaki. "You'll do, kid," he said, "You'll do." Fuuinjutsu!Naruto

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Birthright. N. A right, privilege, or possession to which a person is entitled by birth.

* * *

The name on his travel documents was not his own.

Right now, the fake papers were being perused by one of the chuunin guards at the iconic large gate of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Konoha. There were two of them, and they seemed friendly. They chatted with him in a relaxed and casual manner that appeared genuine.

The one with black hair ("Call me Kotetsu!") jovially inquired about his reasons for visiting Konoha, and Kentaro replied that he was just passing through – staying a few days to buy supplies and then heading out.

It was a fishy answer, he knew, but it was the truth.

Kotetsu proceeded to enthusiastically proclaim the great sights in Konoha, suggesting famous tourist spots and laughingly regaling him with the more eccentric destinations.

Kentaro didn't buy the act, though. The other guard, the one with brown hair, had just checked his papers a third time with what he recognized as an A-rank Genjutsu dispelling technique that chuunin shouldn't have the clearance to know.

And Kotetsu had just patted his shoulder 'good-naturedly' before sending a very subtle pulse of chakra meant to dispel most transformations.

"Say," Kotetsu started as he blatantly observed the rather large scroll strapped to his back, "You wouldn't happen to be carrying anything dangerous in there, would you?" he asked, his tone mockingly grave. He childishly poked Kentaro's large scroll several times, sending a small pulses of chakra meant to sense anything remotely suspicious.

Kentaro tightened his hands around the straps, the fool wasn't subtle at all about his invasive chakra perusal, "Family heirlooms. The scroll never leaves my person."

He knew that would make him all the more suspicious in their eyes, but really – he had no ill intentions in this place.

Kentaro was just tired. He wanted to rest for the week – sleep on a normal bed for once, safe within a room – not toughing it out in the woods, sleeping on the hard ground, and always having to keep one eye open.

The brown-haired guard ("I'm Kamizuki Izumo, welcome to Konoha, Seiji Kenji-san.") looked up from his silent perusal of Kentaro's documents and smiled professionally, "Everything seems to be in order, Seiji-san."

Kentaro nodded, "Thank you, Izumo-san," he said, reaching to take his papers.

Izumo the chuunin guard handed them back to him with a pleasant smile on his face. Kentaro smiled back.

"Have a fun stay here in Konoha!" yelled Kotetsu enthusiastically as he walked away.

Kentaro waved back with far less vibrancy.

He tightened his hands over his straps as he slowly took in the sight in front of him.

For all the time he had spent 'travelling', it was actually the first time he was in Konoha. Detachedly, he could admit that the place was charming. The buildings were brightly-colored and made of wood, and the cobblestone streets were irregularly-sized in a way that seemed deliberate. There were trees in every other side of the road. Some trees were even made into a part of the building – acting as some sort of support wall.

There was a peaceful atmosphere that permeated the place, and the villagers that he had seen wore pleasant expressions, looking, for all the world, perfectly content.

And above it all, smack dab on the face of the large mountain that loomed in the distance, four large faces stared down over the village with stern yet regal expressions.

No doubt, for the average tourist, it would have been an awe-inspiring sight.

Kentaro closed his eyes and tried to let go of the bitterness that rose up within him. It was all in the past, now. It had been years – decades, even. He ought to have been able to let go of it all and let himself heal.

But it was hard. Harder than he thought it would be.

Being in this place, seeing their prosperity… Kentaro readily confessed that it was like rubbing a scabbed wound with sandpaper.

After a few minutes of walking, he soundlessly inspected the seal they had placed on his papers and on his scroll in his mind's eye.

Like a well-practiced dance, he directed his chakra to feel the foreign seals on his belongings. There were two placed on him: one on his travel documents, and another on the scroll strapped to his back. He could see them both clearly in his mind's eye, his chakra subtly probing at the edges of both before he knew everything he needed to know about them – how they looked like, what they were, what they were supposed to do, and how to dismantle them.

The one on his papers was ink-based, and made to look like mere bureaucratic squiggles. Izumo had stamped them on and applied a sliver of chakra. And Kotetsu had transferred the one on his scroll when he poked it.

He scoffed. The seals were kiddie stuff. Elementary.

Something painful twisted in his chest, and he opened his eyes to distract himself.

Ahead of him, he saw a Konoha nin walking a few paces in front of him, wearing the standard chuunin vest. A red swirl was decorated at the back – an illogical and unnecessary accessory stitched on what should have been a vest worn for protection and camouflage. It was like pinning a bright dartboard that said 'Stab Here' on a vital location.

Kentaro saw it for what it was.

A mark of ignominy.

A bloody Uzushio.

"Fucking hypocritical _bastards_ ," he said under his breath. Something ugly seared in his heart. Rage – toxic and potent, grew within him.

He slowed his pace and took the time to control himself. Taking a deep breath, he decided to take a right turn; away from his planned destination, and more importantly, away from the ninja with his dead clan's symbol (and no, no, no – he had sworn not to think about it too much any longer, _damn it all to hell_ ).

Frustratingly, he felt the overwhelming need to just _do something_. Yell, destroy a tree (or a 2 dozen), strangle something (some _one,_ he wasn't picky), and just escape from the ugly feeling in his chest and _damn it_ – he was _tired_.

He was just so _fucking_ tired.

Kentaro stared ahead of him, seeing everything and nothing all at once. He was sick of it. Going here had been a mistake, he realized belatedly – a huge one.

He had thought himself strong enough to be confronted by everything he had lost, but he was wrong.

He wasn't strong enough. He had not healed enough.

22 years after the violent and needless destruction of his village, his home, and his family and Uzumaki Kentaro could still feel their loss as if it had all happened yesterday.

He stopped in his tracks. He could see a hotel in the distance – an inn, with a large golden sign and muted red paint. Several minutes ago Kentaro had wanted nothing more than to check in, have a warm bath and sleep on a bed for once, but now he wanted to head out again.

He wanted to leave. He wanted to go as far away from here as possible.

He wanted to taste the salt in the air, wanted to run his hands over smooth, yet painstakingly-carved stone columns and walls, wanted to feel loose sand on his feet that was always cool no matter the time of day, and he wanted to see people walking around with red, green, and blue hair – and where everyone had warm eyes, a ready smile, and where everyone knew his real name.

Kentaro wanted to go home.

He wanted it so badly he could feel it like a physical _ache_.

Mechanically, he walked towards the inn with the golden sign and with the muted red paint. The door was dark brown wood with square glass. A bell jingled when he opened the door, and the reception area was cooler than the air outside, the décor tastefully done. A man stood up from behind the desk, with a slightly alarmed look on his face.

Kentaro was vaguely aware of his surroundings: he had catalogued all the corners – the safe exits if he couldn't go out through the door, he had done a preliminary scan of the area with a subtle sweep of his chakra without noting any hostile presences, and he had checked the place for any foreign seals with a subtle pulse of chakra through his feet. It was all automatic, now, robotic and detached – done more out of habit than any need to really be safe.

The innkeeper was looking at him with his brows drawn, a concerned expression on his face. Kentaro wondered detachedly if there was something off about his appearance, but he didn't care.

"Do you have room?" he asked blankly.

"We do," the innkeeper replied, "Would you like to check in?"

"Just for tonight," Kentaro said, "I leave at dawn the next day."

"Of course," said the man, brown eyes looking at him oddly. He turned away from him and picked a key that hung on the wall behind the reception desk. The man walked out from behind the desk and gestured for Kentaro to follow him.

The walk to his room was silent, and when they reached the room at the end of the hall, the innkeeper opened it for him. The room was made of wooden walls, with a wooden floor, and a wooden bed, with a wooden door that probably lead to the bathroom.

Kentaro squashed the yearning for cool, white stone walls, polished red floors, and large open arches.

"How much for the night?" Kentaro asked belatedly, heading for the bathroom. He turned to look at the innkeeper standing near the door.

"840 ryo for the night – that includes breakfast," the man said, placing the key to the room on a table near the door, "But you needn't bother with it for now. Payment will be collected when you check out."

At the back of his mind, Kentaro acknowledged that something was odd with that agreement. For one, the innkeeper should have at least asked him to pay half, upfront, but he felt relieved. Kentaro was too tired to bother with anything other than a warm bath and blessed unconsciousness right now, so he merely nodded at the innkeeper in clear dismissal.

"Thank you," Kentaro said, more out of habit than any need to be polite. He waited for the innkeeper to leave so he could begin securing the room (yet another habit that had been ingrained in him), but the man looked at him hesitantly instead.

"Was there anything else?" Kentaro asked, wanting to be left alone.

The innkeeper frowned, "Are you all right, sir?" he asked.

Kentaro looked at the man expressionlessly, "Of course I am," he lied, "I'm just a little tired."

"Of course," the man said doubtfully, right hand slipping inside his front apron, "It's just – you're crying."

With a start, Kentaro raised a hand to his face and realized that the innkeeper was right.

* * *

There was a substitute teacher at the academy today.

Uzumaki Naruto squirmed in his seat, glancing first at the still-present Iruka-sensei and then at the substitute. He regretted coming to school so early today. Last week, on Friday, Iruka-sensei had told the class that today would be the start of 'Extracurricular Week' – where different specialists would come to class and spend half a day to talk about the different (and _esoteric,_ whatever _that_ meant) branches of being a ninja.

Naruto had been excited when Iruka-sensei had said that today, Monday, a specialist on _kayakujutsu_ would be speaking. And Naruto had gotten excited – because who _didn't_ want to hear about someone talk about the sacred art of _gunpowder_? Naruto thought it would be awesome. He couldn't wait – maybe the specialist would have some demonstrations?

And, maybe, if the man _would_ do some demonstrations, Naruto would see stuff being _blown_ _up_. And _maybe_ the man would have some _extra_ gunpowder leftover, and then _maybe_ he'd _accidentally-on-purpose_ lose them.

It was all _just_ hypothetical, of course.

But instead of kayakujutsu, Iruka-sensei had told the class that the specialist had cancelled at the last moment, and that he had asked to be switched on _Friday_ _afternoon_ – so now he was stuck with some _other_ , lame specialist.

Naruto felt cheated at the let-down. During the weekend, he had decided to sneak in the library to read up about kayakujutsu – which really just shows how excited he was at the prospect of it. The librarian (like most of the population in Konoha) didn't like him. The first time he'd been there – she had taken one look at him (more specifically, saw the three lines on each of his cheeks) and her pleasant smile had vanished instantly. Naruto felt even more burned by the reaction because he had been with all of his classmates at that time – lead there by Iruka-sensei who had told them what a library was and what it was for. He was certain that his classmates noticed her reaction to him as well, cementing him as a loser and an outcast with more certainty.

Two months in the Ninja Academy and he had already been dubbed a freak – to be avoided at all costs.

So the trip inside the library had been a calculated risk, all for the sake of learning more about kayakujutsu. That the specialist had failed to show up dampened his mood considerably.

Still, Iruka-sensei had said that the man would be there on Friday afternoon (a whole _5 days away!)_ and Naruto would just have to bear with it.

That didn't change the fact that they were all stuck with another specialist, however.

Naruto sighed heavily.

"All right, class, settle down," Iruka-sensei said, once he had scanned the room and checked the attendance, "With us today is Seiri Kaname, from the Encryption Division."

Naruto observed the man standing next to Iruka-sensei, and despite himself, was fascinated. He had dark green hair and foreign features. Naruto had never _seen_ anyone with hair that shade before, and he stared with all the fascination of a child with his first glimpse of a strange animal.

Naruto wasn't the only one staring, though. The class was looking at the man with wide eyes, taking in his odd hair, features, and way of dress.

"Can anyone remind me what we know about the Encryption Division?" Iruka-sensei asked the class, "Anyone?"

"It's that branch where people de- _code_ , right, sensei? Where they look for secret messages in letters and stuff," someone said.

Iruka-sensei smiled, "That's right, Ami-chan. The Encryption Division is where all foreign correspondence and foreign Intel pass through and are analyzed by the specialists there."

Ko-res-pon-dens? Ana-lize? What was that word? Naruto frowned. He wished Iruka-sensei wouldn't say such confusing words all the time.

"Today, Seiri-san will be talking about fuuinjutsu," Iruka-sensei said. He smiled pleasantly at the green-haired man before walking to the corner of the room and sitting down behind the desk.

The man cleared his throat, "Hello, everyone," he said, smiling at the class. When no one responded, he pushed his glasses up his nose and once again cleared his throat, "Right. Iruka-sensei already told you that you were supposed to have kayakujutsu today. I was supposed to be here on Friday afternoon, which is really unfortunate, because most people consider fuuinjutsu the most difficult among the ninja arts."

Naruto frowned. Difficult? And what _was_ fu-winjutsu anyway?

The man turned towards the chalk board and wrote something. Naruto gaped. The man's handwriting was _perfect_. It looked as if a machine had written the word on the board instead of a human hand. Like the text on printed books, the man's kanji was free of error – all perfectly spaced and aligned.

Naruto read the word the man had written and recognized it.

Fuuin. Seal. Fuuinjutsu. Literally, Seal Art.

The Art of Seals.

"Fuuinjutsu," Kaname-san began, "Is the Art of Seals. Not just an art, though – fuuinjutsu is also a science. It is _both_ art and science."

Rapidly, Kaname drew something on the board. The class watched in awe as a beautiful design started to form.

He sat up straighter in his seat. Something within Naruto recognized it.

When Kaname stepped back from his work, a few minutes later, the class observed the finished art work.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat. He stared at the design with a razor-sharp focus that seemed different yet familiar to him. He had no words to describe the complicated scribble on the board: just that it had a shape (circular in nature), and had countless other scribbles decorating the outside and the inside. A prominent vertical line bisected the circle, and Naruto knew that it was no mere line. He had watched as the man drew dauntlessly to form it. From his seat, he could not see the intricate details that formed the line – but he knew they were there.

For a reason he couldn't understand, Naruto beheld the seal and acknowledged that – for all that it seemed incomprehensibly intricate, the seal was actually a very simple one.

How odd.

And _curious._

"Strength," he whispered, tracing the seal with a focus that was unlike him.

The green-haired man was several feet away from him. If he were a civilian, he would never have heard Naruto's breathy whisper.

But he was.

(And, in that instant, a butterfly flapped its wings and caused a tornado on the other side of the world.)

"What did you say?" Kaname asked, looking at Naruto with a peculiar expression.

Naruto startled out of his trance. The man, Kaname-san, was staring at him with a face that Naruto had never seen before. His classmates were also looking curiously at him, wondering why the green-haired man had randomly asked _the dead last_ _loser_ a question.

Naruto fidgeted in his seat and defensively rubbed the back of his neck, "The seal," he said, saying the word with a reverence that confused him, "It's… I don't – it just feels like it's for strength, you know?"

Kaname-san looked flabbergasted.

Iruka-sensei had stood from his seat and was looking at Naruto sternly, "Naruto, stop –"

"Your name," Kaname-san said, interrupting Iruka-sensei and still staring at him with wide eyes. The class was starting to whisper amongst themselves, wondering what was going on.

Naruto felt anxious. The green-haired man seemed like one of the few people who didn't know him. Kaname-san had been staring at him and hadn't recognized him on sight, which was odd for someone who lived in Konoha. Instantly, Naruto saw the man's foreign hair, foreign features, and foreign way of dress, and thought that maybe he wasn't from Konoha.

Despite himself, knowing that it was foolish of him, he started to feel a little hopeful. Maybe Kaname-san would be nice? Maybe he'd be a friend..?

Naruto swallowed, "Uhm, I'm Uzumaki Naruto," it was the most hesitant way he'd said his name. Usually, he was loud and boisterous, because he was _Uzumaki Naruto, believe it!_ – And people needed to _know that_ , because his name _wasn't_ monster or demon or any other foul thing. He was _Uzumaki Naruto_ , and they better _believe it_.

Kaname-san's expression, instead of souring and turning cold, seemed to morph into one of (dare he say it?) wonder. As if he'd just discovered ramen for the first time in his life. Naruto stared at him with very wide eyes.

"Uzumaki..?" Kaname-san whispered.

"Is anything wrong, Seiri-san?" Iruka-sensei asked. It was a question Naruto and everyone in class wanted answered as well.

Kaname-san stared at Naruto for a few more seconds, in which Naruto spent squirming and wondering what was going on.

Why was the man acting so oddly?

Instead of answering Iruka-sensei, Kaname-san turned towards the chalkboard, and with visible chakra on his fingertips, touched his seal and said, "Fuuin."

The blackboard rippled with power before the seal disappeared, sinking into the blackboard. The class gasped.

Kaname-san then took out a kunai and stabbed the board with force. The class watched, interested, as the board didn't receive any damage. He did it again, stronger this time, and tried to scratch the board with his kunai. The blackboard seemed to have changed into a material stronger than steel, preventing it from receiving a scratch from the kunai.

Kaname-san turned to the class with a gleam in his eye, "Uzumaki Naruto was right. The seal I drew was a fairly simple one: it strengthens any material it is applied to. The material, of course, will not become indestructible – and it really depends on a lot of factors."

Kaname-san's eyes swiveled back to look at Naruto, assessing him, "That a first year academy student would recognize the seal is curious. You said your name was Uzumaki, young lad?"

Naruto nodded, confused. What did his name have to do with anything?

The green-haired man stared at him for several seconds more, "That is quite interesting. Interesting indeed."

Then he said nothing more of it and went on with the lesson, but Naruto could tell that something had changed in the foreigner. Naruto couldn't put his finger on it, but the man seemed more _alive_ , somehow.

As the lesson went on, he asked Naruto, specifically, for the answer, testing and probing him. Some questions, Naruto honestly had no answer to. But some questions he _did_. He did not know how he _knew_ – just that there was an instinct within him that provided him with the answer.

A bold line meant something in a seal, just as how a triangle or a circle meant different things – and every little bit of it _fascinated_ Naruto. It was like something in his blood made him viscerally curious and focused.

Every time Naruto answered wrong, the man would grow thoughtful, nodding and humming and assessing him. Every time he got it right, though, a very pleased expression would flitter across his face – as if he had just pranked someone and had _gotten away with it._ It was an emotion Naruto was acquainted with, and knew that it was a good feeling.

It was the first time Naruto had ever felt anything positive from an adult – and Naruto couldn't help the wide smile on his features as he eagerly listened to the lesson. And yet, more than that, what pleased Naruto the most was that he was _learning_ about _seals_.

Fuuinjutsu. There was an entirely pleasant ring to it – as if it had been branded into Naruto's _soul_ as an exquisite thing and he had just learned of it. It was, Naruto thought, like the first time he had tasted ramen, _except better_.

When Kaname-san started to wind down on his lesson and the bell rang, signaling lunch break, Naruto was startled to find that he was disappointed. He looked around him and noticed that his classmates seemed _relieved_ – as if the most fascinating lesson in the _universe_ had _not just ended_. He looked to the front and noticed that Iruka-sensei was speaking with Kaname-san. With a rising panic, Naruto realized that this would be the first and only lesson he would ever get about fuuinjutsu.

He stood.

"Kaname-ojisan!" he yelled, vaulting over his desk to reach the green-haired man, "You're leaving?"

It was an inane question, and Naruto immediately felt embarrassed at his knee-jerk reaction. Belatedly, he realized that he had reached both Kaname-san and Iruka-sensei and was standing in front of them. Iruka-sensei stared at him blankly (the man didn't really like him, but at least he tried his best to hide it), and Kaname-san was… _smiling warmly at him._

Naruto became very shy at that moment, and he stared at the green-haired man in awe. Aside from Old Man Hokage, _no one else_ had ever smiled at him before. Kaname-san's smile seemed all the more special because there was something like wonder in there as well… like, like how an older brother looked at his baby brother once, when the baby brother did something noteworthy.

Like he was _proud_ of him.

"Naruto-kun," Kaname-san said, "You did very well in class today."

Iruka-sensei averted his gaze from Naruto, opting to address the other adult in the room, "It's the first time he's this attentive, really."

"Really?" Kaname-san said, though he didn't seem surprised, "I wonder why," there was a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he said it though, as if he already knew.

"Right," Iruka-sensei said, inching away from them, "I'd better go back to the teacher's lounge to see if Koenji-san has arrived. He's slotted in the afternoon. Again, thank you, Seiri-san, for taking this slot."

"Just Kaname, please, Iruka-sensei," Kaname-san said, dark purple eyes glancing at the chuunin instructor. He pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled, "It was a small inconvenience, at first, but it turned serendipitous in the end," his eyes turned to look at Naruto, "Otherwise, I'd probably have met this young, budding fuuinjutsu master much later."

Naruto realized Kaname-ojisan was talking about _him_.

"Me?" he asked with wonder, "You really think _I'll_ be a fuuinjutsu master?"

"Right," Iruka-sensei said, "Good noon, Seiri-san, I'll be off."

Kaname-ojisan smiled pleasantly at his sensei before turning his attention to Naruto, "Of course I think that, Naruto-kun. You certainly have the potential. And besides… it's practically in your blood."

What? In his blood? "Like a bloodline limit?" Naruto asked, excitement rising in his chest. Maybe it was something his _parents_ had had. Maybe it was a _clan_ thing!

Maybe Naruto wasn't _just_ Uzumaki Naruto: the no-name orphan with no parents, but _Uzumaki_ Naruto – the orphan who _had parents once_.

The realization was staggering.

"Of course," Kaname-ojisan said, like he was telling Naruto a very great and sacred secret. Kaname kneeled and placed a hand on his shoulder, "The Uzumaki were renowned for their prowess in fuuinjutsu. You are Uzumaki. It is in your blood to be great at this."

Naruto's eyes widened further.

And then it suddenly became too much. He was _Uzumaki Naruto_. His _family_ was _renowned_ for fuuinjutsu. It was _in his blood_.

He had family.

With the largest and most genuine smile he had ever worn on his face, Naruto started to cry.

In that moment – Naruto realized he was on the cusp of something _great_ , and as Kaname-ojisan tried to calm him, hugging him and running circles on his back, Naruto quietly discovered that he had a place in this world.

He was _Uzumaki_ Naruto. Believe it.

* * *

He nodded politely at the innkeeper on his way out of the inn.

The man had looked at him searchingly as Kentaro approached the front desk and quietly paid him for the room. He was feeling a little better now after a long bath and a short nap. Hungry, too. He needed to eat, and staying in the inn and interacting anymore with the innkeeper would just remind him of his momentary lapse in control, so he decided to bear the streets and hunt for a cheap place to eat.

The bell jingled as he opened the door. Kentaro wandered aimlessly for a while in search of a place to eat. The area the inn was located seemed to cater proper food – which meant it would probably be a little expensive and a little slow. His pressing hunger demanded instant gratification, so Kentaro decided to look for quick food.

After a few minutes of ambling around, Kentaro caught the scent of ramen wafting through a stand down the street.

Starving now, he pushed the flaps of the stand aside and sat down on one of the stools.

"What can I get you, sir?" asked the man behind the counter with a close-eyed smile. Kentaro ordered and the man bustled off, preparing a bowl for him.

He shifted uncomfortably on the stool. The scroll hung off his back and pulled him slightly off-balance, but after years of carrying the thing, he had gotten used to its hefty weight.

"… so, really, I think that one of your parents, your mother, perhaps – migrated from Uzushio before its destruction and made a life for herself here," a voice to his right said.

Kentaro whipped his head to the side so quickly he almost had whiplash.

There were two other people seated inside the stand: a man and a young boy. With wide, disbelieving eyes, he took in the man's green hair and was struck dumb at its color.

It's achingly _familiar_ shade.

A Kotonami – he was certain.

"What did you just say, dattebasa?" Kentaro said, a treacherous hope rising in his chest. He roughly grabbed the man with green hair (ally, he thought, _friend_ – his heart lurched) and demanded it of him, unaware that he had just identified himself to anyone who was aware of his clan's verbal tick.

He turned the man towards him, all pretenses of propriety forgotten in the face of something familiar.

He hadn't heard that word - that sweet, sweet name, in 22 years.

Uzushio _._

 _Home._

The man's violet eyes stared at him in shock behind round glasses, and Kentaro was distantly aware that he must have looked deranged, "You said something – about Uzushio! You said…"

"Hey!" a young voice piped in from beside the man, "Let go of Kaname-ojisan!"

Kantaro's eyes darted from the green-haired man (Kaname, his mind supplied; _friend,_ his heart whispered) to the boy seated next to him. He looked back at Kaname desperately.

"You said something about Uzushio!" he was frantic now, wild – insane, almost, but he didn't care, "You said his mother was from Uzushio!"

Kentaro suddenly let go of Kaname and made a grab for the young boy instead, "Your name – who are you?"

With widened blue eyes _,_ the blonde boy said, "Uzumaki… Uzumaki! My name is Uzumaki Naruto!"

Stunned, he let go of the boy.

Kaname ( _friend_ ) and Naruto ( _family_ ) stared at him in shocked silence.

Uzumaki Kentaro's hands trembled as he tightened them around the straps of the scroll on his back – the accumulated history, culture, and knowledge of his ancestors – and for once, didn't feel the weight of everything he carried.

He swallowed, gathering himself, before a smile started to spread on his lips, threatening to split his face in two. Here was living proof that the Uzumaki had not died – their blood spilled over their own land, and their remnants scattered in the wind, hiding in fear of discovery.

He probably looked like a lunatic to these two, and that just made him smile even wider. Kaname had an expression of dawning realization in his eyes, and Kentaro knew that the he had already figured it out. The Kotonami had always been quick studies.

He suddenly laughed loudly, for the first time in what seemed like a very long time. With a vibrancy that he had not felt in more than 2 decades, he smiled warmly at the two of them.

"Sorry about that, dattebasa, I just got a bit carried away," he said, laughing at himself.

"What..?" the boy, _Uzumaki Naruto,_ said, obviously confused.

He looked at the kid, and he was all wrong. He didn't have red hair, and his eyes were a periwinkle blue instead of the distinctive purple.

But behind the color of his hair and the shade of his eyes, his soul was Uzumaki.

"You'll do, kid," he said, "You'll do."

Nodding to himself, he decided to introduce himself properly. It would be the first time in so long that he would dare speak his real name.

The realization left him light-hearted.

"My name's Uzumaki Kentaro," he said, delighting in the look of shock on both of their faces, "It's nice to meet you both."

* * *

And that's that! Welcome to the first chapter of _The Birthright,_ my own take on a fuuinjutsu!Naruto, to answer a what-if question of mine that spiraled out of control.

This chapter had barely been edited - and for that, I ask for your patience. I finished writing it just now (at 6 AM), and I really wanted to post it before heading to bed (because sleep - what is it?).

Please tell me what you all think!

Love,

reborn&free


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